The United States–Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF) was established in 1956 by the Governments of the United States and Israel to administer the Fulbright Program in Israel. The Foundation is funded by the United States and Israeli Governments and is governed by a binational Board of Directors.

The Foundation aims to promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and Israel by means of student and faculty exchanges at the highest possible level of academic excellence.

One of the objectives of the Foundation is to advance knowledge by contributing to both the Israeli and American higher education environments. The Foundation is committed to the fostering of creative, forward thinking leaders both in academia and in other areas of public life. Over the years, the Foundation has played an important role in advancing research, intellectual discourse and social leadership.

To achieve our mission we work through the following channels:

The Fulbright Grant Program

The Fulbright Seminar for Advanced Studies

USIEF Lecturer Program

Alumni Activities

EducationUSA Counselling Center

The Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program, initiated in 1946 by Senator J. William Fulbright, to strengthen the basis for peace by promoting mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the peoples of partner countries around the world, is the US Government’s flagship academic exchange program. Many distinguished alumni of the Program have made their mark on the academic world and in all walks of life. Israel is particularly proud of its two Nobel prize laureates.

The Fulbright Program in Israel offers a variety of core programs and designated programs. The core programs are open to excellent, path breaking scholars and promising students in all academic fields. Our commitment to social responsibility is evidenced by our designated programs, which support research, study, exchange of knowledge of cultures and customs and leadership development among underserved populations.

Core Fulbright Israeli Programs:

Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Master’s Degree Fellowship

Fulbright International Writing Program Fellowship

Core Fulbright American Programs:

Senior Scholar Fellowship

Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Post-Graduate Student Fellowship

Middle East and North Africa Regional Research Fellowship

Designated Fulbright Programs:

Fulbright-ISEF Post- Doctoral Fellowship

Fulbright Outreach Fellowship

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship

Foreign Language (Arabic) Teaching Assistant Fellowship

Institutional programs

Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund

Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) Grants

Senior Specialist Fellowship

The Fulbright Seminar for Advanced Studies

The Foundation has initiated the Fulbright Seminar for Advanced Studies as a platform to encourage and support innovative interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge.

The Seminar aims to provide a stimulating academic environment to nurture outstanding scholarly work in a wide range of disciplines. To this end, the Foundation plans to invite eminent scholars from the US and Israel to engage in fruitful discussions for a period of one week.

These visitors become Fellows of the USIEF during their stay.

USIEF Lecturer Program

Higher education institutions, government-related institutions, NGOs, research organizations and think tanks are encouraged to invite US Fulbright scholars currently in Israel to present lectures or to participate in seminars and workshops.

The following is a list of current scholars, together with their dates of visits, e-mail addresses and lecture topics:

The Fulbright Alumni Association

The Fulbright Program highly values its alumni. Because of our appreciation for their achievements, we established the Alumni Association, whose objective is to create a vibrant, contributing community of alumni who combine academic excellence with social awareness. Fulbright alumni hold key positions in all sectors of the Israeli academy, economy and society. They serve as mentors to their colleagues by introducing new initiatives and by helping to develop their careers.

The Foundation endeavors to develop this unique cadre of academics and professionals by fostering networking opportunities between alumni members themselves and between various academic circles, government agencies, NGO’s and industry. Our dynamic association represents Israel’s finest and is committed to investing in the country’s future.

Education USA

EducationUSA Counseling Center provides accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information on higher education opportunities in the United States. The Center counsels students interested in applying to Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D programs in the U.S.

There are over 4,000 accredited universities, among them 300 business schools and over 1,700 graduate programs. Applying to undergraduate or graduate school in the U.S. is a lengthy process that entails multiple steps.EducationUSA’s experienced advisers, who are U.S. graduates, are well acquainted with the intricacies of the process. They coach students in choosing the most suitable programs and work individually with each student to build an optimal application strategy for admission to universities.

Students receive personalized guidance in choosing schools, writing professional resumes, obtaining effective letters of recommendations and writing essays, which will best project their achievements and potential. The Center also assists students identify and apply for suitable scholarships. Over the past twenty year, thousands of students have been accepted to institutions of their choice in the U.S.

USIEF’s policies and program of activities are set by USIEF’s Board of Directors. The Ambassador of the United States to Israel, Mr. Daniel B. Shapiro, is the Honorary Chairman of the Board, while Mr. Dan Vilenski, former Chairman of the Board of Applied Materials Israel, serves as the Board’s Chairman. The other Members of the Board are:

US members

Mr. Thomas Genton, Counselor for Press and Cultural Affairs, Embassy of the United States

Ms. Michele Dastin-van Rijn, Cultural Affairs Officer, Embassy of the United States

Mr. William Grant, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States (Alternate Member)

Ms. Ingrid M. Kollist, First Secretary, Science, Environment and Technology Affairs, Embassy of the United States (Alternate Member)